I guess my first post should be meaningful. I have been looking through this site for days now and have finally joined. I am an assistant to my teacher who teaches the 3-4 combo, 5-6 combo, and jazz to 6-10 year olds. Here's what we do in class and it works really well. Maybe you can find some help in my post...I just though I would share.

For 3-4 the class in an hour long with 15 minutes of Ballet, Acro, and Tap. We start with Ballet as that takes the most focus and Acro then Tap because we believe they'd never keep their focus long enough to do Ballet and Tap back to back. When the students come in it's to circles drawn in chalk on the floor so they have their own place to stand. It makes things easier so they touch each other. We actually have a Ballet cd with a syllabus. It works well because it doesn't change and it's something the kids can count on. At the end we also curtsey. You have to be patient with them because they get easily side tracked, that's why each thing is only 15 minutes, but you'd be surprised how well it actually works. For Acro we pretty much start with a forward roll and move on ward. We have little table mats with activities that are all the same mat for them to sit on. That also helps with the not touching each other thing. They each have their own identical mat. For Tap we like to mix it up. Kids usually like this more because they can make noise. lol. Sometimes we use tambourines and other instruments. It keeps it interesting. I heard another member mentioning rewarding with stickers. We do it too but not so much for every achievment but at the end of the class if they were good they get a sticker. They sit down with their hand on top of their head and we hand them out. We also end each class with a big hug. I find this works. I think it also builds the foundations for order and dicipline that will follow on through their dance lives. I just wanted to share this with you for all who wanted ideas or help. And yes, sometimes it gets frustrating and no class is the same but patience is a virtue as my teacher always says.

~bailameansdance~

Welcome to dance.net
I hope you have more helpful comments to come.

WELCOME!!....just curious and i need new music, what cd is it that you use for ballet for the little ones that you had mentioned in ur post?

I'll have to find the actual name of it. I can post that for you soon. It's classical that starts like "plies...ready, and..."

~bailameansdance~

that would be great if you could find the name of it...thanks!

I will actually find out tomorrow morning when I have classes with my kids.

~bailameansdance~